The number 16 played an important role Keiver Haldorson’s weekend. The Hamilton trap shooter turned 16 on Saturday. He also participated in the 116th annual Montana State Trap Shooting Championship at Ulm, Montana. And, while participating, he stood on the 16-yard line and nailed 200 clay pigeons without a miss over the two-day competition. The last time a young trap shooter in Montana did that, it was 1977.

Haldorson is a member of the Hamilton Trap Club’s AIM group. AIM is a youth oriented organization that focuses on academics, integrity and marksmanship. Ray McBride has been the coach of the young marksmen and women for almost 10 years. His teams have placed in the last eight years and the high school team has won the state championship every year for the last four years.

“It’s almost impossible,” said McBride of Haldorson’s perfect weekend. “There are guys that have shot their whole lifetime and have never made a perfect score.”

Keiver Haldorson of the Hamilton Trap Club shot a perfect 200 out of 200 clay pigeons at the Montana State Trap Shooting Championships in Great Falls over the weekend. Jennifer Burdette photo.

The competition began at 7 a.m. each day but the contestants actually had to be there at 6 a.m. One by one, each shooter stepped up to a station and, when ready, called ‘pull’ into a small microphone attached to him and a clay pigeon flew through the air followed by the boom of a shotgun. There are four stations with 25 targets at each station for a total of 100 clay birds.

Haldorson said he really wanted to get a perfect score on Saturday because a friend of his, Gus McBride, who is Ray’s son, had done that in a previous competition. He was very satisfied Saturday when he achieved that goal. Sunday morning, as he advanced through the stations, he tried to focus on just one target at a time. “But those last five shots, I was a little shaky.”

Haldorson’s father, Mark, said it was very nerve-wracking. It takes about two and a half hours for a shooter to complete the competition, and with each hit, the tension grew. But even as Haldorson completed his epic run, there were 14 other Bitterroot shooters who had their own pigeons to shatter.

Competing at the collegiate level were Justin Palin and Katie Kerner. Palin won that division and Kerner was second.

At the high school level, the Hamilton Trap Club had two teams competing. The team of Keiver Haldorson, Elijah Koberely, Anthony Palin, Fritz Robinson and Daniel Jones took first in their division. They shot 958 out of 1,000 pigeons. A team of Matt Raymond, Jake Emertt, Cody Driemeyer, Dylon Day and Ben Thomas also competed.

Three junior high students helped their team win the sub junior championship. Wyatt Haldorson, Sam Burdette and Tieson Lewis combined with other shooters to claim the title.

The champions have the opportunity to compete at the Grand American championship in Sparta, Illinois, the first week in August. According to McBride, this is the ‘Super Bowl’ of trap shooting.

Victor’s Tucker ‘going for it’

For Bobby Tucker, each race is much more than just a car race at the Mission Valley Speedway on a Saturday night. It is a way to honor those that have gone before him, honor his family and their struggles and even honor his granddaughter, ‘Miss Lexie.’ The names of his son, A.J., who is battling testicular cancer; his good friend Brian Wallenquist who passed away in 2007; and his late sister-in-law, Theresa, are all painted on the car. ‘Miss Lexie’ sits in the stands whenever her grandpa races and hollers at him to go fast and yells at those who get too close to her ‘Opa’.

The 53 year old Victor resident is a self-professed ‘gear head’ who grew up around racetracks around Massachusetts. His uncle, ‘Gentleman’ Jack LaCuier drove racecars and Tucker’s father was a mechanic. Tucker was 13 when he first started and has raced every since then. He says that he is the old one on the track now at the ripe old age of 53.

After school, Tucker enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Germany. While there, he met his future wife, Patti, at a small track that had been started by her father, Don Robbins. That was the beginning of a family affair at the track. Tucker was in the Army for nine years before being discharged. He became a truck driver on the East Coast, driving tanker trucks. The family moved to the Bitterroot to be near Patti’s family and Tucker went looking for a track.

Bobby Tucker of Victor crosses the finish line during one of the races at the Mission Valley Speedway. Randy Cook photo.

Bobby Tucker with the checkered flag after Saturday’s winning the Main Event on Saturday. Randy Cook photo.

The Mission Valley Speedway is just north of Pablo, Montana. It is the only track of its kind that is located on an Indian reservation. In addition, the 3/8’s of a mile oval track is also the only not-for-profit track in the Northwest. It is an asphalt track that is banked. There are races Saturday night with time trials beginning at 6 p.m. and Sunday afternoons with trials beginning at 1 p.m.

Tucker won his first championship in 2007, the year he began racing in Montana. He drives in the ‘Bomber 4’ class. Although he has always been a Ford man, he drives a 1986 Honda Prelude with four-cylinder engine with a two-barrel carburetor. There is no prize money, only points and trophies.

This season, Tucker is leading his division at the mid-point of the season. But he isn’t sure if he will be able to hold on to the lead. His son, A.J. is getting married and Tucker may miss a couple of races between that and a couple other family commitments. If he does win the championship, he’ll have to move up into a different class.

Friday afternoon, Tucker was getting his car ready for the weekend. A week ago, while racing, another driver crashed into him and did some damage to the car. Tucker said everyone jumped in and helped him fix the axle at the track so he could continue racing but he needed to rebuild part of it. His granddaughter pointed out where the other car had crashed into the red and yellow No. 45 – right where the words ‘praying for A.J.’ were painted.

“She wasn’t too happy with that driver,” said Tucker of Miss Lexie. “Hitting me right there where her daddy’s name is.”

The car is equipped with a five-point harness for safety. Although he doesn’t wear the same sort of helmet and Hans Device the NASCAR drivers do, there are roll bars that protect the driver on each side as well as a high backed seat. Although some drivers use Plexiglas windshields, Tucker has used the same safety glass windshield for the past three years.

It’s a family affair at the track too. In addition to Patti and Miss Lexie, Tucker’s mother and mother-in-law all make the trek to the Mission Valley. They sit where they can watch the track and see what’s going on in the pits. Last year, the speedway had a cancer race. Some of the doctors and nurses who have helped with A.J.’s treatment came and watched.

“They had a blast,” said Tucker. “We want to do that again. Give them a little fun too.”

It is no small task to race every week. The Victor Pit Stop, where Patti works, sponsors Tucker’s car, as do Al’s Cycle, ‘Stormin’ Norman Vercruyssen Excavating and Seismic Signs. Tucker is proud of every one of his sponsor’s decals and pointed them out, one by one.

But it is the other decals – the Twin Towers with a photo of Wallenquist (who was from New York) beside them, the purple ribbons and A.J.’s name – that are the focal point of the car and of Tucker’s racing. They, along with his family in the stands, give Tucker the inspiration and drive to win. Tucker won his race on Saturday and maintained his lead in the point standings.

Page One •	Valley News •	Op/Ed •	Sports •	Calendar •	Classifieds •	Legals •	Links •	About Us •	Back Issues •	Email Us •	Home
©2009 Bitterroot Star This site was Done By Dooney